catching the same eye twice

[rivereyespa.]

this happened to me 10 yrs ago did not tell anyone this story until now,this might help some fisherman that know how to listen and learn,minnow fishing on a small river in late feb. this is the time in PA. when guys come out of there holes to bug the heck out of the guys who fish eyes all year round,came down to one of my spots got there about 3pm.fishing from the bank,hooked a minnow on a 1/16oz jig and was drifting it right into the eyes,got 2 about 18 and put them back when the next thing i seen was about 4 guys comming down to fish,i knew if they seen me catching eyes they would be there the rest of the season,they came down ask how i was doing and started to fish,about 10 min. later i hooked a fish it was a good one,i tried to keep the fish from splashing on top so the guys did not know i hooked one, nobody knew i had the fish on,i got him right at mt feet and thought if i picked him up he will splash,so i put my rod in the water and tried to pop the jig out,the line broke and the eye swam away,nobody even knew i had a fish on,the jig was right in tip of the mouth and knew the fish would loose it,it was about a 28in. fat female, well after that i just started to cast with no bait,about 15min. later the guys left,i baited up and on the first cast i hooked another nice one,when i got it in i seen it was the same fish i caught 20min. before,there was my jig hook right beside the hook with the minnow,i took both hooks out and put him back,now when i miss a fish i think of what happened to me 10yrs. ago and dont give up on hooked fish that get off

[ristorapper]

Happened to me with a northern. Broke me off using a orange slow poke and fireline. Within 3 minutes he was in my boat with two orange slow pokes hanging from his lips. No proof like you on a walleye though.

[Vickie]

Hi

Just happened last weekend. Ice fishing on Mille Lacs - rattle reel
"rattles" and I had a nice fish. The hook broke off and I lost it. A friend stops by the fish house just as I'm tying another (of the same)
on the line and boyfriend gets a hit on his jigging line. He pulls up the fish and there is the jig we lost still in her. Pulled the jig out, released the fish and I put the new one back and tyed the old one back on. Caught fish on it the rest of the weekend, too. :)

Vickie

[StoneyPteTom]

They for sure will bite again some times. A friend and I were casting gold 3/8oz Erie Dearies on LAke Erie not more than 200 yards from shore. I hooked a nice fish but as I got it to the boat it broke off. Zebra mussels got me. My line was cut up a little bit at the break point. The fish felt good so I swore to my buddy it was at least a 7 lb to 8 lber that got away.

We went out the next night and did some casting just after dark in the shallows along shore about 200 yards from where the walleye had broken off. My buddy hooks one on a bomber and fights it to the boat. I net it with the rubber net and as I bring it into the boat I heard a metal like jingle. Sure enough, the fish had tried to eat my buddies bomber long A with my gold 3/8oz weight forward spinner still hanging from its mouth. The fish was only about a 4 lber. If you ever have one break off at the boat, you have to be careful about how big you brag it up. It may show up again on a buddies line with the evidence of your lure still in its mouth to prove you were stretching the truth.

Just a note to mention about this story. The Erie Dearie was in the fishes mouth for about 30 hours. When we removed it there was absolutely no sign of the hook beginning to disolve. Does anyone really know how long it takes for a fish to disolve a firmly buried hook from its mouth?

[water_wolf]

While fishing for Northerns in May of '97 on Black Lake NY with a friend of mine, I hooked a big large mouth bass (6 1/2# according to digital scale). Took pictures of fish and released it. I noticed that one eye was kinda bugged out and glassed over. My same friend went back to Black Lake in July and apparently caught the same fish. Of course I didnt believe him until he showed me the picture. Sure looked like the same fish. Great story any way.

Rich

[REW]

Yes, it certainly does happen.

I was up on Pelican lake and went out in the evening with the children and wife for a couple hours of pan fishing. We set up on a nice break, where I believed there to be a nice school of crappies.

I set everyone up with bobbers, jigs, 4 lb test, and minnows. We caught a couple of crappies. Then all of a sudden- within a couple of minutes - every line was bit off - by - I suspected a northern. I said, " This won't be any fun for the kids if they continue to get bit off."

I tied a steel leader on each of the lines, and put another jig back on each leader along with a minnow. In a few minutes, the neighbor child, had a rod bender. In a few minutes, she boated a nice 5 lb northern. I threw it in the livewell, so that it wouldn't bite off any more jigs - if it was it - that was biting the jigs.

We continued to fish for another hour and boated a nice mess of crappies.

Later in the cleaning shack, I cleaned the northern, and recovered everyone of the jigs.

That northern, had eaten all of the jigs in about 5 minutes.

Take care

REW

[Peluso]

This is a situation that happens a lot. I have caught numerous walleyes that I either had broke off or let go on the same outing. I have even caught a few walleyes that had my jigs that I had snagged on a tree in the belly when I have cleaned them later. Walleyes are oppurtunistic (sp?) feeders. If forage is availiable and easy, they will feed until they get there fill.
I have a little story which happened two years ago on the Missouri River. Myself and a fishing partner were pre fishing for a tournament in August. Most of the fish we are looking for at this time of year are local fish. Meaning, they live in the river all year round. As many people here know, walleyes in the Missouri River system move up and down depending on the time of year. Anyway, we were out the day before the event checking a few more areas and I caught a nice fish in the 5 pound range. I was a little sick that I caught him the day before the tournament. Most of the spots I fish have one or two fish in them and once you catch them that is it for a while. After the fish was in the boat I told my partner it sure would be nice if we caught her in the tournament tomorrow. He said no kdding and pointed out a growth on the side of the fish. I placed the walleye back in the river and moved on. The next day during the tournament we stopped back in the same spot and fished. We boated a smaller eye right away and continued to fish. I pitched my jig up next to a fallen tree and felt a tap. I set the hook but it didn't move? I was hooked on the tree, so I ued my trolling motor to get closer to the tree to work the jig out. I still wasn't convinced the tap I felt was the tree so I kept tight pressure on it. As I got closer I could feel something on the end and told my partner to get the net. He didn't move all that fast because he figured I was snagged and needed it to release the jig. After a quick scream I told him to get the net on the double because now I could see the fish down below. My line was hooked on a small branch on the tree and I worked it free. We netted the fish and were pretty excited about the size. Before I could say anything my partner started to laugh and pointed out the growth we had viewed the day before! Pretty cool to catch the same fish twice, even cooler to catch him in the tournament. Good fishing and don't forget to shoot the puck. Mike Peluso #999

[Backwater Eddy]

Seen it many times myself.

One post spawn mid May morning on a river dam I caught a 29" walleye twice, and released her twice. She had a unique scared stubby pectoral fin and was easy to spot. Fishing was good and I had also released several other fish of various sizes that morning.

Half hour after I released her the second time another angler arrived and caught her again. Unfortunately this time she was not so lucky, he took her home.

I always thought that kinda put a kink in the high C&R release mortality rate theory in cold water?

She certainly was healthy enough to keep coming back for more? So much so it did eventually put her in the frying pan.

So maybe they are right?

;)

Backwater Eddy ~ ~ ~><sUMo> ~ ><>

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